Category Archives: Uncategorized

(In the picture- He was very cold. We can’t wait for FL weather to return to normal. His sweater was purchased at the Goodwill Outlet bins. Even dog clothes can be thrifted!)

We had wonderful holidays that included 4 different visits from family in the month of December. We had a very fun and relaxing winter break. Now I am getting ready to go back to teach for Fall Semester tomorrow.

Frugal Things

– Although we do purchase some fun Christmas gifts we do a really good job of also asking for and buying practical gifts as well. I know a lot of people opt to skip gift giving but I personally LOVE it.

– When our relatives came for Christmas day, we purchased the bulk of the Christmas dinner and breakfasts and lunches for almost 10 people. However, everyone else also contributed. My MIL gave us money towards the groceries (not expected at all but very much appreciated), bought all of the alcoholic drinks for our celebration, and brought us expensive coffee and chocolate. My mother helped by purchasing a few grocery items we forgot and helping me clean up the house constantly. Everyone helped cooking Christmas dinner so that was completed quickly.

– I did have a decent number of people to buy Christmas gifts for but I spent several hundred dollars less than I budgeted by buying some items ahead, using Amazon Prime to find the best deals, getting lucky with Target clearance, stopping at two wonderful closeout stores near the house called Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and Old Time Pottery. We were able to purchase exactly what everyone asked for at about half the price we expected. I do almost all of my shopping at normal thrift shops but there are some really nice discount stores around here.

– I purchased slippers for a relative for $23 for Christmas. Then we found a nicer pair at ALDI in their houseware section for $8. I returned the first pair.

– My Aunt and her BF treated us to a really nice dinner for New Year’s Eve.

– My mom and I went to Super Target and their Christmas clearance was up to 90% off. I was able to purchase a few remaining gifts, stocking holders that I had been unsuccessful in finding secondhand for 90% off, and I also purchased a Christmas Kit that had my expensive EOS products for clearance prices. EOS is never that cheap!

– I purchased new clearance kitchen rugs for $12 that don’t show pet hair when you walk on them. Our old ones were memory foam in dark navy from the thrift shop that showed every speck of dirt. I realized I was washing them more often then necessary because they looked crappy. I buy very little brand new because we have great luck at thrift stores but these rugs will save me a lot of money, time, water and energy over washing rugs that don’t need to be washed.

– I saved Amazon gift cards from my birthday and Christmas and Swagbucks and I was able to buy a new phone because mine is starting to go. I’m excited about the new phone and it’s a practical purchase since I use it for work.

– I go back to work on Monday and I’m very ready. I had a back to work faculty meeting and they fed us lunch.

Not So Frugal

– It’s not frugal to have 4 sets of company in one month but there are certain things we did to make it more affordable including using our own dishes instead of buying disposable, only washing full loads of laundry (like sheets), not needing to use the AC because of the cold weather, making most meals at home, buying groceries from ALDI, etc. It was frugal for our family because they didn’t have to pay for a place for us to stay together.

Extra Income

– I continue to do small online work

– I am purchasing items to sell on eBay and Poshmark but now only items that will sell for over $30. The reason is that I don’t have enough time to list all of the items so I might as well focus on the items that have the greatest profit margins.

– I was able to purchase reusable bags that were Christmas themed for .50 cents each. We got one for everyone and it worked out great because they were able to take their gifts home in them if they wanted or they could give them back to me to pack up for next year. This created much less waste and saved me a lot of time not wrapping.

I was able to fit in a couple of small thrift trips in a busy week and had some great finds including the above Birkenstocks for $5. A great tip to find these is to make sure you check the men’s section. These resell really well. I think they are ugly!

These chairs actually match my dining room set and were marked down to only $1.99 at Goodwill! I never see furniture this cheap at Goodwill and they are in great condition. Ignore the messy garage in the background.

I bought the items in the above and below pictures for all $2 or less each. I got a few things for me and a few things to sell. I will update this post as items sell.

I got the above beautiful sweater for $2 for my mom who works at Target.

I have had a lot of luck at the thrift shop this past week. I found this amazing alphabet foam mat for my nephew’s room, it’s the size of an area rug. His mom has one in the living room that looks more like a rug but she likes that it’s easier to clean than a rug and still pads the knees of little ones. It was $20 but they retail for over $100 new and it was in great condition.

I bought the above Polo sweater, J Crew jean jacket, Free People Top and Michael Kors blue dress to sell. I think I will keep the exercise jacket. All $2 or less.

One of the finds of the day were the above Melissa & Doug wood clock toys ($2 each) in amazing condition. I will give them to my nephews for Christmas.

I was please with the above clothes I found for me.

All of the items in the above picture are to sell. Starting with the stripped French Connection dress, Lulus Romper, FUBU snakeskin pants, Tobasco and alligator polo (so strange!) and Armani Exchange skirt. The pants are $2.50 and everything else was $2 each or less.

The 4 items in this picture were from a quick trip to Goodwill. The Darth Vader mug may end up as a Christmas gift (or we might keep it!). Goodwill is so expensive compared to our regular thrift shop.

Everything else on this page was generally $2 each or less, unless I have noted otherwise. I definitely have some online listing to do soon. I will wait until winter break after next week.

I only had a little bit of time to stop at half off day at the thrift shop before another appointment but I’m glad I did. I scored a J Crew Tunic ($1.75) to sell and an Anthropologie Dress ($2). I also got a $2 Graphing Calculator which sells on eBay for around $50. I also found some fun gifts for family, some nice Christmas decorations, a pair of black boots and 5 shower curtains ($1.50 each). I stock up on cheap shower curtains for myself and family members because with the humidity in FL they don’t last long and are expensive new.

I had way too much fun at a local Church rummage sale this weekend. I bought the above 4 Lilly Pulitzer items and the below Johnny Was tunic for around $3 each. These will all be listed on Poshmark soon.

I also bought an assortment of dog stuff including the below outfits, doggie bags, god water bottle, harness and leash all for $3.

We had a lot of fun trying these dog items on the pets.

I also purchased the below Black House White Market and Cabi shirt for $3.50 and $2. These will likely also go on Poshmark but if not I could wear them to work.

I also couldn’t resist getting these two handmade snow people. I am replacing my glass Christmas decorations with items that the cat’s can’t break even if they throw them on the floor.

We adopted a puppy from our local shelter! He came fully vetted and fixed for the price of his adoption fee. I consider money spent on our pets worth every penny! He can’t believe how many toys we have in this house! He is playing with all of the toys our older dog ignores and all of the free toys from the shelter. This is really the reason I am so behind with posting because puppies are a lot of work!

Frugal Things

– We have been shopping less since we have a new puppy that we are cautious about leaving home alone but we have been getting outside more and taking lots of walks which are good for the puppy and us

– It’s starting to cool down in Florida so fingers crossed our electric bill goes down

– I took my mom to the airport for her trip to visit my aunt, frugal for her and we enjoyed spending the time together

– The puppy needed a crate and I called all local thrift shops with no luck. Mom and I stopped at our local one anyway on the way to the airport to shop and they had one for $5! That’s a $75 savings over the pet store for a much nicer crate then the one we were going to buy.

– We have a new to us thrifted shower curtain ready to be hung up to replace our current mildewed one, we always have expensive looking shower curtains that match our décor that we always buy for $1 at the thrift shop

– I was craving cake so I made one from a box mix I picked up for $1 and icing I also bought for $1, I added 2 extra eggs that were nearing expiration. Yay!

– We started watching the show Mars free from home

– I have to renew a prescription but it’s free with my free through my job insurance. I don’t take it for granted in today’s world of expensive healthcare.

– We had my mom’s birthday dinner at the house. We grilled burgers, made French fries, and made margaritas. We have lots of leftovers and it’s much cheaper than eating out which my Mom dislikes. It was nice to spend time together.

– I used a gift card I got for free through Swagbucks to buy a wall stud finder, an ergonomic bone for the puppy and a shower seat for my aunt. Overall, I’m pleased with all purchases almost for free.

– I think I need to sew some more dog beds for the house because the new puppy is so much bigger than our current dog, fortunately I have more than enough sewing supplies to make it a free project

– Still bringing my coffee, breakfast, lunch and refillable water bottle to work. This is a huge savings.

Not So Frugal

– I believe someone tried to scam me on eBay. They bought Legos from me and then claimed they were fake. I reported them and will have to pay for a return but hopefully my report will stop them from doing this to anyone else. Did I mention they sell Legos on eBay?

– We did buy some new toys for the new puppy but I say still cheaper than replacing furniture from chewing!

Extra Income

– Wrapping up some extra classes I was teaching online

– Still doing some small online work for extra money

– Getting ready for our neighborhood’s garage sale. We live in a small community off of a very busy road so we were very busy last year.

– We cleaned the house and garage today without the use of harsh chemicals. We use rubbing alcohol for a counter sanitizer.

– I have been using a sort of doggy dry shampoo on the dogs to clean them. It’s a huge time and energy and water savings and it’s supposed to be soothing to their skin. Oddly enough they seem to like it.

I was very excited to get to go to one of my favorite rummage sales that a local church hosts twice a year. Purses were $1 each and I got 4 coach purses, 1 Dooney and Bourke and 1 other nice purse with roses. The largest coach purse turned out to be fake but I believe the rest are real.

This purse was probably the best find of the day!

Shoes at the rummage sale were .50 cents each. The Born and Circus shoes should sell well on Poshmark.

This shark Vacuum was the most expensive thing I bought and it was $5. It works and should make life easier with all the little furry pets that live in our house.

I also scooped up a couple of stacks of free greeting cards. Cards can be sooooooo expensive so I stock up when free or cheap and my mom also raids my stash constantly.

I realize I didn’t get any pictures of the cute PJs that I got for my nephew. Clothes were .25 cents each. In the end I spent $12for everything and I expect to earn back more than double that off of one Poshmark sale.

I was already paying at the local thrift store when I happened to spot a stack of Kindles on a nearby shelf. I bought 3 of them. Two were $3.50 each and one was $10 with the case. One of them works already and I will have to see if I am going to be able to reset the other 2 or I will return them.

I bought this mega intense car seat for my nephew who lives out of state for when he visits so my sister doesn’t have to fly with a car seat. We will check for any recalls.

I got this plastic storage tub and a Play Station 4 game for $5 total at a yard sale. No pic of the game because B is already playing it.

These Toms shoes were $1 a pair. I need to get them listed on Poshmark ASAP. I think they will go for at least $30.

B bought this set of Dilbert toys for $2 they will also go on eBay.

Mom found this brand new set of flannel sheets at the thrift shop for $4.

You can’t see them very well in this crappy pic but I got a set of throw pillows for $2.

We picked up 2 more shower curtains for $2 each and a little travel sign for a Christmas gift for about $1.

I got the above really nice Liz Claiborne purse for $2 at a yard sale. It’s exactly what I was looking for as my laptop will fit in it and it will replace the purse I have with a broken zipper.

Both of the above bags are Neiman Marcus and were $1 each at a yard sale. Not sure yet if I will keep them or sell them.

We got this shark bite blanket for my nephew for around $1.

Almost all of the items in the above picture were from a free box at a church rummage sale. I did buy the book and a few small things but most were free.

– We finally made it to Trader Joe’s 10/5 to stock up on some harmful chemical free products at their great prices. However, this never feels frugal at the time because the store isn’t convenient to get to so I buy enough for 4-6 months at a time but it saves us a lot in the long run. See pic below to see the household items we stock up on.

– We resisted the urge to go to Shake Shack by Trader Joe’s for lunch and then I wasn’t feeling very well so we didn’t go shopping after which would have been fun but did save us money

– I really feel like I got a great deal on the laptop I bought. It’s not a super cheap one but it’s making my life so much easier with all of it’s features and saving me a lot of time at work.

– We have started watching the show Harlots on HULU. Who needs cable?

– We stopped at half off day the thrift shop the day before we went to visit my mother and we were able to buy her some really nice hand towels, wash cloths, a new with tags rug and memory foam rugs

– My mom needed to visit a sick family member and we were able to buy her a ticket on a discount airline out of a local airport, she won’t pay for a bag or seat and will travel light which saves us a lot of money

– I finally got to visit Dollar General Market because I had heard that it was even cheaper than ALDI. I personally didn’t find it to be that cheap so I’m glad I wasn’t missing out on anything but they did have 50% off their clearance and I found a few small things. The half off didn’t ring up at the register so they had to fix it. I’m glad I was paying attention.

– B did a big shopping trip at ALDI that should get us through the rest of the month

– I continued to use my almost empty eye liner for much longer than expected. I try to use every last bit of everything I buy.

– My mother is coming to visit on Tuesday for my birthday and I’m excited about it. We want to go see the new movie A Star is Born and Tues nights at the nice local theater is only $5 a ticket.

– I gave my friends some gifts today when we got together for lunch, two friends I gave eyeshadow pallets that I purchased on clearance for dirt cheap and my other friend I gave some adorable little baby toys include a soft baby book with lots of ‘cat’ tails

– My mom is still having printing trouble so for $14 I purchased an ink cartridge for my old LaserJet 1100 printer that she can plug into her laptop. The printer is no frills aka Wi-Fi but that seems to be the best way to go at the moment.

– My work is having a stray cat problem. It should not be normal to see stray cats. They are not wild animals. I was able to find a rescue to help us TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) the cats but one day the custodians ended up with a kitten that needed a foster. I found a bottle feeder for the kitten but not before I purchased some stuff in case we had to keep it for the weekend. I was able to return everything for a full refund which saved me about $50. Good deed done and no money spent. See adorable pic of our puppy and the kitten above.

Not So Frugal

– It’s still very hot in Florida so our electric bill is still a little over $200 but hopefully this is the last month

Extra Income

– I had a really great bundled sale of 2 items on eBay. I stand to make just under $60 on the items that both had been listed for over a year. The person left great feedback so that was a great profit. My eBay strategy is to relist all items that don’t sell using the free listings that eBay offers and EVENTUALLY I find that everything sells.

– I went through my death pile of items I have not gotten around to listing and pulled out items that I don’t think will sell or aren’t worth listing. I’m going to sell them at the yard sale we are having next month. These are items that will do better at a yard sale than online.

– I love having little side hustles! Even making a little extra money besides my regular full time job makes me happy and one step closer to our goal of buying a farm.

– We went thrifting and our best find was Furbys! We will see what they sell for on eBay.

– I have been earning a ton of Swagbucks through these pop ups for email lists. I did one for Huggies for 50 SB, one for Suiteness for 100SD and one for Tablespoon for 40SB. That’s a great reward for signing up for email lists. Of course, I use a junk email address.

– The pic below is of the household items we stock up on at Trader Joe’s. Harmful chemical free products can be expensive but not Trader Joe’s brand. It’s kinda an open secret that their toothpaste is Tom’s of Maine in a generic package for 1/3 the price.

I was in a minor car accident on my birthday. I decided that the scratch on my car was not enough to call the other driver’s insurance company. She was very nice and owned up to making a mistake. Yesterday, she mailed me a $100 money order and a $25 restaurant gift card. Karma is real!

Frugal Things

– I have been going to local rummage sales and neighborhood yard sales. So much fun! We have been able to purchase some of the things we have been looking for including things to sell in our online business, storage, video game stuff for B, gifts for our nephew.

– The weather has gotten a lot colder here in FL which will mean huge savings on our air conditioning bill. We can smell the neighbors backyard camp fires which is lovely but also makes me want to get a fire pit.

– We aren’t traveling for Thanksgiving which is a huge savings. Nor are we making a huge Thanksgiving meal for 2 people so we are planning to grill steaks. Not buying and cooking a huge meal will be a huge savings for us and we will still have a great day.

– It’s hard to leave the house with a hurt puppy so we are saving money that way.

– B has been cooking great meals at home so little eating out.

– I had free pizza lunch at a work meeting and there was extra for me to bring home to B.

– My sister and nephew and bro in law have decided to visit FL in Dec. They can’t stay with us because of the puppy and allergies so they are getting a hotel. I love having them stay with us but this will definitely save us money. They can’t fly with their stroller so I am going to buy them a cheap one at the thrift store for their Disney visit. They have a relative who works at Disney so they will be getting in for free.

– Our dishwasher disposal and hot water heater both stopped working and our landlord got a plumber out the day that we called. One of the only perks of renting in my opinion.

– My dad lent us his pressure sprayer, ladder and leaf blower so that we could clean off our pool deck. It looks great!

– A bunch of our outside light bulbs went out at once and they weren’t cheap to replace on Amazon but I randomly found a 6 pack of the light bulbs we needed at Publix for about $11.

– I needed to donate our leftovers from our yard sale, I was going to load them in my car and take them to the thrift shop but it turns out the Vietnam Veterans are collecting donations in my area on Monday so I called and now I only have to put everything outside the garage.

Not So Frugal

– The puppy hurt himself at doggy daycare and was having a hard time walking. We were very upset but they paid for his xrays and took him to and from the vet before we even picked him up. He is slowly starting to do better. He needed to be able to stretch out so this led to purchasing a bigger crate for him ASAP rather than waiting to find one second hand. Walmart had them for a good price but they were out of stock everywhere so they sold me their floor model for 10% off. We also bought more toys to occupy him when he can’t run and jump around. We almost rushed the puppy back to the vet when he decided to get up and walk over to us. He still has a long way to go but is getting better every day.

– Also because everything seems to happen at once, we are concerned that the pets have tape worms. Fortunately, the medicine is cheaper on Amazon with free one day shipping so we were able to treat all of them the next day for about half the price of the pet store and not vet visits involved.

Extra Income

– We had our annual neighborhood garage sale and in 2 days with only small items I made almost $200.

– I have had really good luck purchasing items to sell on Poshmark and eBay at local yard sales and rummage sales including Lilly Pulitzer items, Johnny Was and Coach.

– I pursued an online teaching gig since this summer that didn’t end up working out. I’m bummed but there is nothing I can do.

– An exciting opportunity presented itself at work and I was going to do it for free but it turns out I will get paid for it.

– I have earned some more gift cards through Swagbucks that I used towards some things we needed online.